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I know that Solid Signal is a good company and there are lots of people who have DTV that buy receivers from them. With all the bs coming from csr's about the HR-34 and DTV refusing to give every customer a rebate and good deal now would be a good time for some of the third party companies that carry the 34 to step up and give ALL DTV customers some kind of rebate and a good price. Just a thought.

I am entitled to the same price others with my longevity get, nothing more and nothing less.

This inconsistency is Very Bad Business, and quite possibly illegal.

Well, no you aren't 'entitled', buy you can expect it!

This is just the typical D* crapshoot with deals. You just never know what deal will be offered or not and there won't be any real rhyme or reason as to why one gets it and the other doesn't. Very, very typical of D*.

I've been a directv customer since 2008. called last week trying to get the HR-34, told me to call back on the 9th. When i called back on the 9th at about 0900 EST, the CSR asked if i knew the pricing, said yes it was 399 with 300 rebate, she confirmed then put me on hold to complete the order. after about 15 minutes on hold she came back apologetic saying that the rebate was only for new customers and not existing, said she was going to put me on hold again and do some checking....after about 10 more minutes on hold she said the best they would let her do is 100 off, she was extremely nice and apologetic the whole time. I asked if I could just speak to retentions and she transfered me over after putting notes in my account. After I got sent to retentions, the rep there asked what i was calling for, i said i just wanted the 300 rebate, she put me on hold for about 10 minutes, came back on the line apologizing since it was the launch day no one really knew what was going on, and said they were going to give me a 300 instant credit, and also give me the cinema now for whole home dvr for free..ended up paying 148 (99 for HR34 + 49 instal), and the installer just left my house. So I got the HR-34, and whole home DVR for 148.

Just as most mobile phone providers have figured out, its as important to renew a good customers contract, as it is to get a new customer. So most handset deals are very similar for a new and renewing customers now. And they get getting you committed to a new 2 year agreement. So I don't know why DIRECTV makes some subscribers beg for it, but I'm glad with some effort they will usually see the light.

I know that Solid Signal is a good company and there are lots of people who have DTV that buy receivers from them. With all the bs coming from csr's about the HR-34 and DTV refusing to give every customer a rebate and good deal now would be a good time for some of the third party companies that carry the 34 to step up and give ALL DTV customers some kind of rebate and a good price. Just a thought.

I seriously doubt that Solid Signal is making $300 profit on the HR34, so it's not their responsibility to be providing rebates.

I'm frankly puzzled why DirecTV is providing anybody with a large discount on the HR34, unless 1) they have a huge supply; and 2) it is very strategic.

It also seems (IMHO) premature, since until a RVU client is available, the HR34 will frequently exceed the 8 tuners available in existing installations, and (if currently a SWiM LNB) require LNB replacement, new wiring, and a SWiM-16... all installer-intensive.

Yeah, but people with longevity don't get special pricing since they're already a customer. Calling and demanding, or threatening to quit because you can't get, new customer pricing is crazy.

I have to agree with your second sentence. It is crazy subscribers have to do that. If its a good customer, they should just match the new customer deal to get someone to sign a new 2 yr commitment. They end up trying to get you back with basically new customer offers, once you leave. So why not just keep the customer?

I ordered my new HMC HR34 first thing this past Thursday morning at 8:00 AM. It's now officially available to all existing D* customers nationwide instead of only being available for new customers as it was with the initial launch. As stated many times in this thread, your initial D* CSR will try to charge you the full $399 retail price and tell you that no discounts are available because the equipment is too new. This is absolutely false and I've attached proof below from the confirmation e-mail D* sent me for my equipment order. I simply asked for the cancellation department and they took great care of me after very little resistance letting me have the HR34 for only $99 with free installation. The woman in customer retention even got me an accelerated installation date and they are coming today between 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM! One thing about D* is they do value their customers and even though I've been frustrated a few times, in the end I've always been taken care of with credits on my account, free select premium channels for 3 - 6 months, etc. I've been with D* since 1997 and have been an NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber since 2002. Now perhaps my customer history had a lot to do with the discounts I get, but take a look at a copy of my monthly statement below to see just how much I save after simply asking D* for credits. I'm going to have them hook up the HR34 today and run the standard installation and then I'm going to record one program on the internal hard drive (this is so that if my external hard drive ever fails and I need to revert back to the internal one I will be able to tell that the internal hard drive has booted back up). Then I'm going to power down my HR34 and unplug it, and then install my 2TB WD20EARX hard drive into my Antec MX-1 enclosure. Then I'll boot up the external hard drive, plug it into my new HR34, and then power back up the HR34. I have 3 other HR22 HD DVR's so after today's install I will have 3 HD DVR's and the HR34 for a total of 11 different simultaneous recording feeds and 3.5TB of total recording space after I add the 2TB external hard drive to my HR34. That's 2,800 hours of SD recording space or 700 hours of HD recording space... or 5,600 30 minute SD shows or 1,400 30 minute HD shows. I am locked and loaded! So remember... PERSISTENCE WEAKENS RESISTANCE.

I have to agree with your second sentence. It is crazy subscribers have to do that. If its a good customer, they should just match the new customer deal to get someone to sign a new 2 yr commitment. They end up trying to get you back with basically new customer offers, once you leave. So why not just keep the customer?

But why? There's no price protection with DirecTV. When you commit to 2 years you do just that, commit. You know what you're in for and if you don't like it why commit for 2 years in the first place? Why would you expect to be treated as a new customer when you are in fact not a new customer?

No one said you threatened to quit... You're not entitled to new customer pricing, you're not a new customer.

The problem is that they make it so easy. I called in when new subscribers were getting Sunday Ticket free, and just asked if any discounts were available to me. I took the first offer, free. If she had said no, I would have ended it there and decide whether to subscribe at full price.

The problem is that they make it so easy. I called in when new subscribers were getting Sunday Ticket free, and just asked if any discounts were available to me. I took the first offer, free. If she had said no, I would have ended it there and decide whether to subscribe at full price.

Yeah, but people with longevity don't get special pricing since they're already a customer. Calling and demanding, or threatening to quit because you can't get, new customer pricing is crazy.

So this whole circus is the customer's fault???? Wrong! People with longevity call and demand because other people with similar longevity get the deal and others don't. DTV's inconsistency and lack of clarity is what drives this behavior. It is not an entitlement mentality. I don't think I am "entitled" to satellite service. I don't think I am "entitled" to new equipment for free or any other price.

Aa a customer I am willing to pay a fair price for the equipment and services. A fair price means getting what you perceive to be good value for your money. Like it or not, the reality is one measure of good value is paying what others similar to you are paying. Fair equals equitable and equitable means equal treatment of all concerned.

I can see the difference between new and existing customers. I'm not advocating that existing customers get new customer pricing. I get that.

As a customer since 2001, I would have no problem paying full fare for the equipment if other customer's with longevity also paid it. I would have had no problem paying $399 for the HR34 and moving on if I didn't hear others similar to me were getting it for $99. It would also be fine by me if DTV was clear that customers with X years get such and such deal or customers outside of the 2 year contract got such and such deal. Then I would know how long I have to wait and could decide accordingly. But they don't. They give it to some with little haggling and other after significant haggling. They offer $200 to some and $300 to others. This whole system is their mess 100%, not the customers.

I personally think for existing customers what they ought to do is lower the equipment prices across the board and then stick to their guns and not offer "deals". That would kill all this haggling and customer retention stuff that THEY have created. They could probably reduce the customer retention department staff and reduce their headaches.

So this whole circus is the customer's fault???? Wrong! People with longevity call and demand because other people with similar longevity get the deal and others don't. DTV's inconsistency and lack of clarity is what drives this behavior. It is not an entitlement mentality. I don't think I am "entitled" to satellite service. I don't think I am "entitled" to new equipment for free or any other price.

Hmmm, I've read my posts on the subject and I don't see where I said it's the customer's fault so I'm not sure where you got that from... I agree that DirecTV should "tow the line" on this and treat everyone the same. If you're not a new customer you don't get new customer pricing no matter how much you cry, whine, threaten to quit etc. If existing customers don't like not getting new customer pricing let them quit and come back in a year or so as a new customer. That should be their stance.

Just as most mobile phone providers have figured out, its as important to renew a good customers contract, as it is to get a new customer. So most handset deals are very similar for a new and renewing customers now. And they get getting you committed to a new 2 year agreement. So I don't know why DIRECTV makes some subscribers beg for it, but I'm glad with some effort they will usually see the light.

Huge difference with the handsets. I own my handset.

As I see it no matter what the eventual charge is, it is really just a shipping charge for the box. Even worse, you are tied into a contract which just adds to the shipping cost each month.

Hmmm, I've read my posts on the subject and I don't see where I said it's the customer's fault so I'm not sure where you got that from... I agree that DirecTV should "tow the line" on this and treat everyone the same. If you're not a new customer you don't get new customer pricing no matter how much you cry, whine, threaten to quit etc. If existing customers don't like not getting new customer pricing let them quit and come back in a year or so as a new customer. That should be their stance.

The problem is, you keep asserting that it's New Customer Pricing, when some existing customers routinely receive it (and then others "demand" it and receive it).

Hmmm, I've read my posts on the subject and I don't see where I said it's the customer's fault so I'm not sure where you got that from... I agree that DirecTV should "tow the line" on this and treat everyone the same. If you're not a new customer you don't get new customer pricing no matter how much you cry, whine, threaten to quit etc. If existing customers don't like not getting new customer pricing let them quit and come back in a year or so as a new customer. That should be their stance.

I agree 100%. I would like them to say "this is the price and you can go pound sand if you don't like it".

I interpreted your comments about customers having an entitlement mentality to mean it is the customer's fault.

So this whole circus is the customer's fault???? Wrong! People with longevity call and demand because other people with similar longevity get the deal and others don't. DTV's inconsistency and lack of clarity is what drives this behavior...

It IS new customer pricing. Just because some existing customers get it doesn't mean it's not new customer pricing. It just means DirecTV caved in when they shouldn't have.

You keep missing the point. Some existing customers called in and received the "new customer pricing" (from a CSR, not retention), others are quoted huge numbers (~$600, charging for everything but the kitchen sink).

The inconsistency is the problem, and it's not like it's a new phenomenon.